Biographic Characteristics and Factors Perceived as Affecting Female and Male Careers in Academic Surgery: The Tenured Gender Battle to Make It to the Top

Abstract

Purpose: Given the high attrition rate in the field of academic surgery, we aimed to characterise the professional and personal situations of female and male academic surgeons as well as to gather data on their respective perceptions of career advancement and work satisfaction. Methods: We conducted a cross-sectional survey in Germany, inviting all identifiable academically highly qualified female surgeons and their male counterparts in a 1:2 ratio to participate. An anonymous 103-item online questionnaire was designed and the data collected between July and September 2014. Results: The questionnaire was sent to 93 female and 200 male surgeons, of whom 63 women (67.7%) and 70 men (35.0%) replied. The average age was 47.5 and 47.1 years, respectively. Respondents identified ‘high degree of expertise', ‘ambition', and ‘clarity of one's professional aims' as important factors affecting professional career development. Both groups felt ‘workload', ‘working hours/shifts', and ‘gender' to be a hindrance, the latter of significantly greater importance to female surgeons. The mean work satisfaction scores were high in both female (69.5%) and male (75.7%) surgeons. The predictors ‘support from superiors' (standardised β coefficient = 0.41) and ‘manual aptitude' (β = 0.41) contributed incrementally to the variance in ‘high degree of work satisfaction' (90-100%) observed for female surgeons. However, childcare provided by ‘kindergarten/crèche/after-school care' had the greatest negative predictive value (β = -1.33). Conclusions: Although there are many parallels, female faculty members experience the culture of academic surgery to some extent differently from their male counterparts, especially when impacted by parenthood and childcare. Faculty development programmes need to develop strategies to improve perceived equality in career opportunities by respecting individuals' requirements as well as offering gender-appropriate career guidance.